Factors Influencing Improvement of Hemodynamics During Exercise

Abstract

During our last conference in Geneva 1975, dealing with ventricular function at rest and during exercise, we could demonstrate that there is a rather good correlation between the. size of the ischemic area of the left ventricle and the increase in mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PCP) during exercise-induced angina. Thus the degree of PCP-rise is a semiquantitative indicator of the severity and size of ischemia. In this paper we would like to deliberate on the factors influencing improvement of hemodynamics during exercise after aortocoronary bypass surgery. After subtracting the early deaths (3.57%), we were left with 693 patients operated on up until the end of 1977. In these patients 1,702 grafts were constructed, thus averaging 2.45 grafts per patient. Most patients had 3-vessel disease and 14% had left main stem disease. 16.9% of the patients received one graft and nearly 50% at least three grafts (Table 1).